So...it's been a minute - which is a complete understatement - but before I get started running my mouth again, here are a few of the things I've been up to since the last official episode:
This is a marker rendering I did for a classmate from when I attended The Art Institute of Jacksonville (I have some odd stories from that House of Weirdos, but more on that later - we have a whole slew of nonsense to cover). I did this with Microns, Sharpies, OTR Markers, Prismacolors, and Copics...like an old man should. Shout out to David Webster and Anna Miller for all the jewels of drawing wisdom. I still have miles to go, but it's a lifelong venture and a meditation.
SNAX.3, Trinity
These are a few of my more recent vector illustrations. One of the best things I got out of my time at The Institute was a thorough introduction to the nuances (and subsequent pain) of digital illustration. It's honestly something I should've been exploring on my own before I decided to pay thousands of dollars for it. The thing is, when you were a stubborn purist like I used to be, stepping into the digital realm seemed like "selling out". I've come to learn in my old age that that is a bullshit term.
Shout out to Graham Young for the thorough, military style digital training and also to Jet Belleza who was THE DUDE who pushed me the most to go digital in the first place.
In The Wild
Then there is, of course, what most of you know me for. Not many of these have been executed since about 2016 or so (at least not any that anyone knew about). The first one is part of a production that I had the honor of being a part of for NightHawks alongside WERMS, ASMA, KES, CENT, and Campbell.
Shout out to Triclops for letting us get loose. The second one is part of a character I did for the long time homie The Infader for a venture he was a part of that, in all honesty, I'm not sure what came of.
It's twice as hard to get back on."
- Clyde
In 2011 I enrolled at The House of Weirdos in a 3 year Graphic Design program. I ended up having to take a year off in the middle for health reasons, but came back and finished in 2015. I'd be lying if I said the entire experience was negative; the faculty and the other students were the best part of it. However I'm pretty sure everyone's heard by now just how shady that organization was, so I'll refrain from the mudslinging.
From 2015 (after I graduated) to 2018 I worked in print and, while that was a different and unique experience in itself, it turned out to be yet another path I probably should've refrained from taking. I did make some great connections and learned a ton about printing though, so I'm not really complaining.
That brings us to what I call the Wild West era - from 2018 to now...
At the beginning of 2019 I ended up leaving the design and print world. I've managed to keep busy under the radar mainly drawing and posting on social media but, not a whole lot of public appearances. I think it's safe to say that, for those of us fortunate enough to make it through the events of the subsequent years after, life's been a little strange ever since.
However, in 2023 I went rogue...
In the beginning of 2023 - out of sheer wonder and curiousity - I took a leap and stepped over into the synthography world and have been learning an immense amount about that technology, it's mode of operation, and the many uses it has the potential for.
Now, before everyone pulls out their art history manuals and art law degrees, I fully realize it's a major point of contention in the art world at the moment. I'm not here to debate or evangelize. Time will tell. This doesn't mean I've ceased to draw, paint, and vector. It's just another creative outlet and another tool in the tool box. With that being said, if you'd like to keep up with the constant stream of how I'm using my strange brain to create in that medium, you can check out my Threads feed.
Now that we've gotten caught up/acquainted, check this out...
So, it's not often you run into a bizarre flick on Tubi that's actually good. Don't get it wrong, there are a ton of bizarre flicks on there, but watching most of them feels like listening to a toddler describe their synopsis of The Shining in a language you don't understand. This one, however, actually kept my interest for more than the first 8 Minutes:
I'm not sure if it's because I now qualify for AARP, or if it's just the legitmate insurmountable barrage of general information that's out there, but I seem to have a penchant for sleeping on hilarity like this:
"The Christmas Tree Ship sank into the depths of Lake Michigan near the shore of Two Rivers, WI during a devastating winter storm on November 23, 1912.
Once a beloved symbol of the holiday season hauling a load of fresh-cut pine trees bound for Chicago on the rough late season waters, the Rouse Simmons became a watery grave 165 feet beneath the waves. But that hasn’t stopped her ghostly crew from trying to complete their voyage and deliver their final load on Christmas morning.
Quick facts about the Christmas Tree Ship:
The Rouse Simmons was a three-masted Great Lakes schooner built in Milwaukee in 1868
The ship delivered Christmas trees from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Chicago
Captain Herman Schuenemann was known as “Captain Santa“
The ship sank during a winter storm on November 23, 1912
The crew and passengers, an estimated 16-23 men, were all lost
The shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Two Rivers, WI in 1971
A phantom bell has been heard tolling for those lost
The ghost ship sails on Christmas Eve
The grave of Captain Schuenemann‘s wife Barbara smells of pine"
>>>READ THE REST HERE
Damn, and I needed a tree last year too...
...Anyway, I just ran across this on JUXTAPOZ:
"In the summer of 1972, a 29-year old Gordon Matta-Clark began to photograph NYC's exploding graffiti movement. There are many significant things to consider here. One, this pre-dates the style we would begin to recognize as "graffiti" as documented in later books like Subway Art. This is an innocent time, an origin story, and Matta-Clark was capturing it with the sense innocence but acute interest. Matta-Clark himself was approaching architecture and urban space as the canvas for his own significant body of work. He is known now, famous for, his site-specific works, claiming unused or forgotten space, and transforming into something different. He was socially engaged, a rebel, an activist. Space and how to use and who uses it was important. And maybe that is why Gordon Matta-Clark turned his attention to documenting graffiti and the way the wall writers were using and claiming space, because that was so vital to his own practice. For such a renowned artist to explore graffiti in its infancy, was quite extraordinary."
>>> READ THE REST HERE
I'll go ahead and leave it there. I'm sure you've picked up on it by now, but I wouldn't suggest reading this blog if you don't have a whole lot of time to waste. :)
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